The UN Studies Happiness

In 2011 The United Nations published the first World Happiness Report. The Index devised by a team of scholars led by Jeffrey Sachs of Harvard gave numerical weights to respondents’ answers on assessment of the quality of their own lives.

In addition, six elements from data taken from the Gallup World Poll were compared with that assessment. Weights were given to such factors as GDP level, life expectancy, generosity, social support, freedom, and corruption.

Respondents are asked to think of a ladder, with the best possible life for them being 10, the worst possible life 0. Thus the index reflects how people in a given country assess their own lives and is therefore subjective.

Happiness is also subjective and does not always (or even often) correspond with objective measures.

Some anomalies are surprising and are due to cultural factors.

Dystopia is the world’s least happy (imaginary) country, ranking 0 on all happiness factors taken into consideration.

The opposite of Dystopia is Utopia, which ranks 10 on all factors.

The sub-bars (the six factors) have no impact on the total score reported for each country; they are only a way of explaining for each country the implications of the model estimated in table 2.1.

The Index does not define happiness but rather leaves it to the respondents to assess their lives.

That is consistent with the following definition;

Happiness represents satisfaction with one’s existence as a whole.

H. Rashdall, The Theory of Good and Evil

We all love lists and rankings to see how we stand in comparison with others.

The state of world’s happiness is shown in the colored map, ranging from purple (least happy) to light pink (most happy).

A glance at the map shows that the world is not a happy place.

Dark colors prevail in Africa, Asia, and parts of Souith America.

We see that the Scandinavian countries, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada are the happiest countries. Some European countries (e.g. Switzerland, Netherlands ) also rank high, but it is hard to see that on the map because they are so small.

The situation is more or less what could be expected from common sense.

When one goes into details, however, some surprises emerge.

In the rankings of countries, the US is 18 with a score of 6.9, Mexico is 24 with 6.6, Italy is a low 47 with 6.0.

Given that the highest score was 7.6 for Finland, there is a lot of room for improvement before reachig Utopia.

With such a small difference in happiness scores between Mexico and the US, why are so many Mexicans fleeing to the US? Other indices show a different picture. Half of Mexicans are poor, and Mexico ranks in the bottom ten of the Global Law and Order Index.

Are some people (e.g. Italians, Poles) simply malcontents?

Many other such questions are raised when one studies the Happiness Report.

According to the World Happiness Report, happiness has been declining worldwide.

Apart from economic factors such as recessions and natural catastrophes like floods and tsunamis, psychological factors could also play a role. People with higher expectations tend to be less happy when these expectations are not met. Further, younger generations are less tolerant of adversity than in the past.

Looking at countries as a whole gives a very limited picture of the happiness of citizens within municipalities. For example, what would be the happiness levels of persons in places like the inner cities of Baltimore and Detroit versus some communities in Connecticut and Long Island?

What can the happiness score of Finland (the highest ranked country) teach us?

Economic factors are responsible for only a small part of the happiness score. When a person (family) reaches a certain income level, more money does not add measurably to happiness.

On the other hand, having financial difficulties is the greatest predictor of unhappiness.

By far the most important factor in happiness are social relationships. In a small country like Iceland, it is easy to be in touch with friends and family and to get help from them in difficult life situations.

What are the implications of the World Happiness Report for government policy?

Governments should pay more attention to the mental and social well-being of citizens. Much can be done that would not cost a lot of money. The government could encourage citizens to abandon drugs by offering financial incentives to persons who test negatively in this area ) saving money on health care). Communities could establish programs staffed by volunteers to promote self-efficiency, social and emotional learning, and mindfulness. Community centers could tackle the probl;em of loneliness among the elderly, a consequences of the breakup of the extended family.

Countries need other measures besides GDP to help them shape policy.

One such country that puts the Gross National Happiness Index over Gross National Product is the tiny Buddhist nation of Bhutan

A ten-year-old from that country said, Happiness is when you make something to share with others.

Instead of Fuck off, a bumper sticker from Bhutan read, Don’t kiss me.

Link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Happiness_Report